A Silesian Porcelain Primer

There are quite a few pieces identified as Silesian or Silesia Porcelain on today's antique market. Many are incorrectly identified as Polish. In reality, at the time they were produced, Silesia was under German control.

The Beginning:

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, the German economy was in poor shape. The beginning of a porcelain industry in Silesia brought hope of economic improvement for that area.

This area was ripe for such an industry because it held vast deposits of two of the elements necessary for top quality ceramics: feldspar and quartz. It also had a great deal of wood to fuel the factories.

The Boom:

Soon a number of porcelain companies sprang up In Wałbrzych and the surrounding towns. Approximately twenty porcelain factories were in operation in Silesia at the end of the 1800's. Thirteen of those factories went on to flourish through World War I, the stock market crash of 1929, through WWII. The factories made wares for the German market as well as for export all over the globe.

The Bankrupt:

Porzellanfabrik Hermann Oh

me was one of the prime manufacturer of fine porcelain in Silesia. The porcelain manufacturing firm began in 1882 in the then German region of Silesia (today Polish Szczawienko).

The factory made both clear glaze and Old Ivory porcelain. The clear glaze pieces were made primarily for European and America markets. The company, however, was not one that survived the tumultuous beginning part of the 1900's. The business was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1930 during the world financial crisis.